BREEDING GROUND FOR BOXING CHAMPS
THE COLISEUM

Before the modern era of big boxing events staged in glitzy casinos, the sport gained its following in regional fight clubs all over the country.

In its heyday, the Coliseum Federal Athletic Club on 15th and E streets in downtown San Diego was one of the three major boxing venues in Southern California.

The 3,521-seat Coliseum opened in 1924 when California legalized professional boxing and wrestling, and it flourished in the 1920s and ’30s.

Over the years, the Coliseum’s small dressing rooms hosted an illustrious list of boxing talent. Jimmy McLarnin, Tommy Loughran, Henry Armstrong, Ceferino Garcia and Jimmy Braddock all fought at the Coliseum at some point during their careers and went on to win world championships.

Archie Moore and Ken Norton also boxed there. Both men ended up making their homes in San Diego.

It wasn’t uncommon to find Hollywood celebrities in the bleachers, and even legendary Chicago gangster Al Capone showed up to watch a fight one night.

The club weathered the Great Depression and even survived a fire in 1938. But by the 1950s, the Coliseum was struggling financially. Under the weight of staggering debt, the club finally shut its doors on Aug. 1, 1974.